Daniels, L. (Director). (2009). Precious [Motion Picture].
Precious is the story of Clarisse Precious Jones, an overweight teenager who has been physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by her parents. The movie begins with Precious, sixteen and pregnant with her second child by her father, sitting in her middle school classroom. Precious is illiterate and has only been passed onto the next grade because she has not had a teacher willing to take the time to teach her to read, so instead they pass her onto the next teacher. Precious is however a very good math student. Because she is pregnant and still in junior high, Precious is asked to go to an alternative school that helps students earn their GED and gives them the reading and writing skills they need. Here, Precious meets her new teacher, Ms. Rain. This is where Precious is finally loved. Ms. Rain helps Precious feel like she is important and smart, something her mother has never done for her. Ms. Rain also helps Precious get out of her mother's abusive home and into a halfway house where she is able to start new with her new baby, and eventually her older child as well.
Throughout the movie you see the abuse from Precious' mother. She is constantly told how ugly, fat, and stupid she is. You learn at the end of the movie that Precious’ mother knew that she was being raped by her father and allowed it to happen over and over, and in fact allowed it to start happening when Precious was just 3 years old.
Precious takes place in New York City, in what she refers to as the “ghetto.” Most of the characters in the movie are African American, with the exception of a few white people in the junior high Precious first attends and some of her new classmates.
This movie was extremely difficult to watch, mostly because of the way Precious was treated by her mother. I was sick to my stomach watching her endure the abuse by her mother and hearing about the rape by her father. Even though this movie was set in an impoverished urban community, it is important to know that abuse, whether it is sexual, emotional, or physical, can happen in any community. As teachers we need to remember that we are a safe haven for our students. We need to provide a safe environment where students feel valued and can learn. We need to be open to helping our students, not only helping them learn but helping them when they are in need of someone to talk to or go to.
I also think this movie was a good reminder to not judge students based on their appearance or where they came from. You, the teacher, have not lived the same life as your students. You cannot pretend to know what goes on in the life of your students whether they are from the city, the suburbs or the country.
I think this movie is important for teacher candidates to see because it does give some insight into what some children go through and suffer through. However, I would not show this movie to my students because of the vulgar language throughout the film.
Daniels, L. (Director). (2009). Precious [Motion Picture].
Precious is the story of Clarisse Precious Jones, an overweight teenager who has been physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by her parents. The movie begins with Precious, sixteen and pregnant with her second child by her father, sitting in her middle school classroom. Precious is illiterate and has only been passed onto the next grade because she has not had a teacher willing to take the time to teach her to read, so instead they pass her onto the next teacher. Precious is however a very good math student. Because she is pregnant and still in junior high, Precious is asked to go to an alternative school that helps students earn their GED and gives them the reading and writing skills they need. Here, Precious meets her new teacher, Ms. Rain. This is where Precious is finally loved. Ms. Rain helps Precious feel like she is important and smart, something her mother has never done for her. Ms. Rain also helps Precious get out of her mother's abusive home and into a halfway house where she is able to start new with her new baby, and eventually her older child as well.
Throughout the movie you see the abuse from Precious' mother. She is constantly told how ugly, fat, and stupid she is. You learn at the end of the movie that Precious’ mother knew that she was being raped by her father and allowed it to happen over and over, and in fact allowed it to start happening when Precious was just 3 years old.
Precious takes place in New York City, in what she refers to as the “ghetto.” Most of the characters in the movie are African American, with the exception of a few white people in the junior high Precious first attends and some of her new classmates.
This movie was extremely difficult to watch, mostly because of the way Precious was treated by her mother. I was sick to my stomach watching her endure the abuse by her mother and hearing about the rape by her father. Even though this movie was set in an impoverished urban community, it is important to know that abuse, whether it is sexual, emotional, or physical, can happen in any community. As teachers we need to remember that we are a safe haven for our students. We need to provide a safe environment where students feel valued and can learn. We need to be open to helping our students, not only helping them learn but helping them when they are in need of someone to talk to or go to.
I also think this movie was a good reminder to not judge students based on their appearance or where they came from. You, the teacher, have not lived the same life as your students. You cannot pretend to know what goes on in the life of your students whether they are from the city, the suburbs or the country.
I think this movie is important for teacher candidates to see because it does give some insight into what some children go through and suffer through. However, I would not show this movie to my students because of the vulgar language throughout the film.